Photo by Ed Mulholland/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson will be back sooner than expected.

Late Friday, Henderson’s representative forwarded a statement from the fighter, explaining that he’ll return to training right away after suffering an armbar loss to Anthony Pettis at UFC 164.

“My elbow isn’t going to be an issue,” Henderson said in the statement. “Dr. Shafer said I can resume training immediately, but to take it slow and steady for a couple of weeks and do my rehab work. Of course I am anxious to get going full speed again but I will be smart and patient about it as well.

“I want to thank my hardcore fans for their awesome support, not just in the past week, but throughout my career. I can be better. I will be better.”

Henderson suffered an injured elbow in his submission loss to Pettis at UFC 164 last week in Milwaukee. Pettis locked on the armbar to win the fight and UFC belt in the first round of the main event. The loss was Henderson’s first since losing to Pettis at WEC 53, a match that saw Pettis taking the WEC lightweight title from his opponent.

Pettis was also injured during the fight, suffering a sprained knee that will keep him out of action for seven weeks.

Jon Jones speaks to the press prior to UFC 135. Photo: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC.

Jon “The Man” Jones got himself a special in the upcoming issue of GRACIEMAG, where the strengths (copious) and weaknesses (few) of the light heavyweight champion of the UFC are broken down and laid out. Be sure to get your hands on it as soon as it hits a bookstore near you, and to make sure you don’t miss any special reports in the future, subscribe here.

Voted the GRACIEMAG man of the year in MMA of 2011, Jones abounds with lessons. During a lively trip to Rio for the UFC 142 weekend, Jon Jones was interviewed by Brazilian journalist Ary Cunha for the Sunday edition of “O Globo” newspaper, and he also provided one good piece of controversy with Jiu-Jitsu as a theme.

1. LESSON OF LONE LOSS

“I messed up there [disquualification loss to Matt Hamill in 2009]. It was the wrong move at the wrong time; I made a mistake. But rather than getting intimidated and stop using elbows, I improved the technique. I don’t make that mistake anymore, and now elbows are my number-one weapon.”

2. TAKE MORE RISKS

“I always try getting the finish when I fights, using different moves, preferably the riskier ones. I know that putting on a good show for the crowd is just as important as winning.”

3. FORMULA FOR SUCCESS AS FIGHTER

“Passion. Being passionate about what you do (…) You have to struggle to be the best every day.”

4. ENERGY AND GAS IN JIU-JITSU

“I love swimming, to improve my wind.”

5. TOUGHEST WIN IN UFC

“It was against André Gusmão [UFC debut, in August 2008; he won by unanimous decision]. (…) I didn’t have a strategy, my technique wasn’t clean, I didn’t think much during the fight. Now I know what’s going on; I know how to read my opponent, read their body language, which I didn’t know how to do before.”

6. OUTSIDE OCTAGON: PEACE AND SMILES

“I don’t get stressed. There are people starving, living with war, disease. I have no reason to complain, to suffer from little things. I can’t cry; I have to smile, because my worst day is a good day.”

7. “WRESTLING IS A POWERFUL WEAPON AND CANCELS OUT JIU-JITSU”

“And last but not least: the controversy. Jones, who has been wrestling since he was 14 years old, is quoted by “O Globo” as saying, “Wrestling is a powerful weapon and cancels out Jiu-Jitsu. Good wrestlers know how to avoid getting pinned. I’ve never been pinned and never been taken down…”

Jones’s opinion deserves the utmost respect, of course. There’s no lack of wrestlers who have trained hard and managed to get around Jiu-Jitsu. Could be, though, that you, dear reader, might agree that this video here weakens the champion’s case just a bit:

What do you think, dear reader, is Jones six times right and one time wrong? Comment below.

Lyoto still in hospital / Photo: personal archive/Twitter

A UFC star with a caustic tongue, Chael Sonnen rankled away on American TV at year end, and one of his targets was Lyoto Machida. Chael says the karate stylist deserved a bottle of mouth wash for Christmas due to his habit of drinking his own urine first thing in the morning, being the urinetherapy practitioner he is.

Having undergone surgery on his left elbow this Monday, the Brazilian made a point of getting on Twitter to let his fans know that all went well and he’s all set to begin physiotherapy. As he tweeted, though, he couldn’t fight back the urge to send a message out to Sonnen.

“Chael Sonnen, I just had surgery but I can still give you your present in the octagon with just one arm. All you have to do is accept,” posted the onetime light heavyweight champion.

The fight would be a gift for the public. Chael Sonnen has a middleweight match-up scheduled against Mark Muñoz on the coming 28th of January at UFC on Fox 2. If he beats the Filipino-American, he’ll get his coveted rematch with Anderson Silva in June at São Paulo’s Morumbi stadium. Sonnen has fought at light heavyweight on a number of occasions, though, which would make a showdown with Lyoto possible sometime later in 2012.